New York’s livery cabs to go green - but not in time for St. Patrick’s Day

New Yorkers could soon be hailing green taxis when a new livery cab license is introduced in the coming months.

The city plans to begin allowing livery cabs to accept street hails in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs. However, the cabs, which are traditionally black, will have to be noticeably different from the average NYC yellow cabs.

The NY Taxi and Limousine Commission ruled that cabs “must be painted” what’s called “Street Hail Livery." While the color is yet to be decided on, sources say it is likely to be a shade of green.

According to the TLC, the new license will allow owners and drivers of For-Hire Vehicles (FHVs) to pick up hailing passengers in Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens (excluding airports), Staten Island, and Manhattan north of W 110th Street and E 96th Street.

After a process of elimination, green is likely to be the designated color, Livery Base Owners Association spokeswoman Cira Angeles told NYC.

“Blue to a certain degree is associated with the police, red with emergency vehicles. Finally someone mentioned green, and it sounded like a pretty good idea when it comes to identifying the car,” she said. “I, personally, love green.”

The Street Hail Livery License is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to bring legal street hail service to all five boroughs.

Besides their green color, the new livery cabs will operate the same as yellow medallion taxis, including roof lights, credit card readers, meters and partitions.

In 1970, the city made yellow the official color of the medallion cab.

The TLC is expected to formally announce the color this spring with the sale of the first 6,000 livery permits expected in June.